


my jolly sailor bold

by active_galactic_nuclei



Category: Slipknot (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Cannibalism, Drowning, M/M, Murder, Mythology References, Sirens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 22:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29583015
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/active_galactic_nuclei/pseuds/active_galactic_nuclei
Summary: paul finds himself unable to resist the beguiling songstress, who is all too happy to take advantage of the naivety of the beautiful sailor
Relationships: Paul Gray/Joey Jordison
Comments: 9
Kudos: 9
Collections: Of Mythos and Magic





	my jolly sailor bold

**Author's Note:**

> slipknot mythology fic number two! I actually LOVE how this one turned out, I really hope you like it!! but seriously heed the tags, this one is rather dark in nature (and let me know if i need to tag anything else!) but yeah as always I hope you leave kudos or drop a comment they fuel me to write even more!!

The sea was choppy, winds picking up from the west that seemed to hold a looming threat of storm. Paul was at the helm, watching the horizon over the bow and frowning. He walked around the deck, muttering to himself about the colour of the sky and some old wives tale about telling when bad weather was brewing. 

He walked over to the railing on the ship’s side, looking down where the dark water churned beneath the ship’s hull. He shuddered, thinking about just how unfathomably all encompassing the body of water was. 

“Paul, you have to come look at this!” Corey called across the deck, and Paul strode quickly over to where he stood on the gunwale, looking out over the horizon. He took the spyglass from his hands, raising it up to his eye to look out at whatever Corey had seen. 

He saw a massive cliff side, hulking rocks towering up on both sides to create a narrow passageway through the center. 

“What the fuck… That’s not anywhere on our map,” Paul uttered, looking down to where the map was unfurled on his lap. 

“I don’t know either…” Corey commented, taking the telescope back to have another look. 

“Well we’ll have to go through it… Get the men to adjust the sails,” Paul decided, walking back towards the ship's helm to course correct the vessel. 

He grasped the ship’s wheel tightly, wood rough under his hands as he steered them toward the rocks. The ship creaked and groaned from all around him as it fought the winds pushing on its sails. Satisfied with the trajectory of the ship, he sighed heavily and looked up to the sky. Noticing the rapidly darkening sky, he seemed to feel a chill run up his spine. 

The cliffs were majestic sights, standing hundreds of feet tall on either side, and Paul and his shipmates found their stomachs churning as the ship passed between them. The bowsprit guided the way, cutting through the fog like a lance. A deep darkness had descended over the scene, the only light now coming from the lanterns that hung around the ship, eerie reflections dancing on the rock faces as they passed. 

Suddenly, and with a change in momentum so strong it rocked the whole vessel and sent everyone stumbling to the floor, the ship stopped dead. 

“What in God’s name…” Paul muttered, looking around in the shadowy haze at what may have caused the disturbance, “Corey? Jim? Hello…?” 

Paul called out to the crew in vain, but it seemed nobody could hear him. He could hardly see ten feet in front of him, the darkness having seemingly overtaken the entire sea. He searched around hopelessly with his eyes, desperately trying to identify someone or something he could recognize. 

And as he looked over the edge of the ship, he saw him. 

He was breathtaking, long sable hair falling over his ivory shoulders and cascading down his back. He was ghastly pale, and his eyes were piercingly blue as they sat deep in their sockets. He was hauntingly, enchantingly, hypnotically beautiful. 

“Who are you?” Paul asked, voice quiet and wavering as the man stared up at him, face stoic and unreadable. 

When no answer came, Paul made his way down to the ship's bottom deck, descending the ladder to stand on the gangplank. Now at his level, he looked at the man again. Still he was silent, eyes following Paul wherever he moved. His porcelain skin reflected the dim lights, casting soft twisting shadows over the contours of his cheeks. Paul was mesmerized by the man. 

“What’s your name?” he tried, receiving only silence in return. That is, until he began to intone the most beautiful sound that Paul had ever heard. His mellifluous humming bounced off the rocky walls and chorused with itself in its melody. Paul watched in awe, mesmerized as he began to sing. 

_“Upon one summer's morning_

_I carefully did stray_

_Down by the Walls of Wapping_

_Where I met a sailor gay...”_

Paul lowered himself closer to the water, sinisterly still beneath him. He lowered his legs off the edge to sit on the platform and the melodist took this as an invitation to swim closer to him, wrapping his arms around Paul’s legs and resting one soft cheek against his knee.

_“...Conversing with a young lass_

_Who seem'd to be in pain_

_Saying, William, when you go_

_I fear you'll ne'er return again…”_

Paul extended his hand to his cheek, thumb stroking over the shimmering skin there. He leaned into the touch, eyelids softly fluttering closed in contentment. 

_“...My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold...”_

The man opened his eyes to stare into Paul’s own, a soft sparkle in his icy blue irises that made Paul’s skin prickle with goosebumps. 

_“...His hair it hangs in ringlets_

_His eyes as black as coal_

_My happiness attend him_

_Wherever he may go…”_

The sound of water droplets accompanied his voice, steadily keeping rhythm as it dripped down the cavernous walls. It only served to make the song all the more beguiling to Paul.

_“...From Tower Hill to Blackwall_

_I'll wander, weep and moan_

_All for my jolly sailor_

_Until he sails home...”_

He snaked a hand up Paul’s arm, slinking up slowly into Paul’s lap. It was only then, far too late, that Paul noticed the pitch black tail that sat in the place of his legs, scales dazzling like onyx stones. He grabbed Paul by the chin, tauntingly gentle, and placed their lips together. Paul reveled in the salty bitter taste of his mouth as he tipped his head forward, sinking down further and further as more of his body was submerged in the inky water. 

_“...My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold...”_

Paul held him close as he descended into the sea, treading water to stay afloat as the choralist pulled him tenderly away from the ship and further into the doleful darkness. They held each other as he lowered his head to rest in the dip of Paul’s neck. 

_“...Come all you pretty fair maids_

_Whoever you may be_

_Who love a jolly sailor_

_That plows the raging sea…”_

Ever so delicately he dragged Paul under the surface, pressing another soft kiss on his lips as they were suspended in the water. He reached under Paul’s chin, a single bony finger tilting his head up to look at where he was illuminated in the murkiness. The saltwater stung at Paul’s eyes as he opened them, too entranced by the serenader to do anything else. 

_“...While up aloft in storm_

_From me his absence mourn_

_And firmly pray arrive the day_

_He's never more to roam…”_

Paul’s lungs burned like they’d been set on fire as he finally conceded, swallowing acrid mouthfuls of the briny water and sinking further into the freezing depths. The siren pet his hair while he suffocated, so teasingly soft, until he felt the life finally drain from the mariner’s body. He stared at him, face permanently entrenched in reverence, set to stay forever frozen in rapture. He looked downright _divine_ to Joey, who stared at him in allurement. He placed a final kiss on his lifeless lips, still warm to the touch, and began to sink his teeth into his neck. Tearing off chunks of flesh, watching the blood curling up into the water as the metallic taste filled his mouth, Joey finally felt whole again. He stared into the sailor’s exanimate eyes as he floated in the effervescent blackness.

_“...My heart is pierced by Cupid_

_I disdain all glittering gold_

_There is nothing can console me_

_But my jolly sailor bold.”_


End file.
